


Affirmation

by Miri1984



Series: The Heart of Aphrodite 2021 [1]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Story, The Heart of Aphrodite 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29268708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miri1984/pseuds/Miri1984
Summary: Azu is ready for her quest of Benevolence, but she needs the proper equipment.
Relationships: Azu & Eren Fairhands
Series: The Heart of Aphrodite 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149449
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25
Collections: The Heart of Aphrodite





	Affirmation

She looks at the armor laid out on her cot. It is, of course, beautifully crafted, she had been to all the fittings and discussed her needs with the temple armorer who had questioned her thoroughly on what she would need, and she had used all her training to answer those questions to the best of her ability. It’s  _ hers _ , standard equipment for a paladin of Aphrodite on their Quest of Benevolence, but having it there, ready for her to wear, is something new and exciting and entirely overwhelming. Two years of learning and wandering and praying, and it’s come to this. Oh, she shouldn’t be as enraptured by a  _ thing  _ as she is, she knows that, and she also knows it’s not just about the armour. It’s what the armour represents. It’s what she has  _ become  _ and it’s what she  _ will be. _

“Congratulations, Azu,” Fairhands says, placing a soft hand on her shoulder and squeezing briefly. His tone is even and considerate, the way it always is when he deals with Acolytes, but the touch is new and she feels a flutter of nerves in her stomach, a touch of doubt. How can she possibly live up to what he represents? Perhaps this has all been a terrible mistake, her vision, her travels, her purpose - what if she’s not strong enough?

Fairhands drops his hand and she looks at him (they are not quite of a height usually, but this time his eyes are level - was he rocking forwards on the balls of his feet, just a little, to make them more even? No. Surely not!). “Am I truly worthy?” she asks, voice smaller than it is wont to be.

“Why don’t you put it on?” Fairhands says.

“But… but there is nothing to fight, here!” she protests, and Fairhands gives a low chuckle.

“No. But I think you should wear it all the same. Trust me, Azu.” He gives her a nod, and glides out of the room, and Azu looks back at the armour on her bed and sucks in a breath.

“Well,” she says to herself. “I’ll have to try it on some time.”

She is familiar with armour, of course she is, part of her training has involved the intricacies of buckles and ties and plates, but she has usually had the help of her sisters and brothers in the order, and getting it on by herself is something of a chore. She is frustrated at several points, but remembers her training, and sucks in deep, calming breaths, finally managing to secure the last piece and smooth her hands over the shining metal.

Which is glowing.

She hadn’t noticed, not until this moment, that the soft pink glow is not coming from the draperies and walls of the dormitory - a colour that had become a comfort and a cradle for her these past few weeks - but instead is coming from…

… she draws in a short, sharp gasp and spins to the mirror that stands against the wall of her room, hands hovering over the last buckle, hardly daring to touch the metal that she had been struggling with but moments before.

_ “Oh,”  _ she can’t help the soft gasp that falls from her lips as she takes in the sight of her reflection, suffused in a soft, pink light, emanating from her armour  _ no… from  _ her. The armour had not been glowing when she put it on, it has been activated by her… by her  _ faith. _

She swallows, turns this way and that so she can catch every angle of it, tears prickling behind her eyes. 

She is a paladin of Aphrodite, about to start her Quest of Benevolence, and she is  _ loved. _


End file.
